


Doppi O (Double Shot)

by nappeungashina (naemamdero)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Bakery and Coffee Shop, Crossdressing, Fluff, Korean Drama based, M/M, tbh idk what genre is this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-11-07 15:06:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11061519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/naemamdero/pseuds/nappeungashina
Summary: It is not a good idea to have a dare session while watching Korean drama. Especially when it was the same drama Big Bang made a parody of.





	Doppi O (Double Shot)

**Author's Note:**

> This is actually a crosspost and also the revised version of the fic part for the collaborative work I've done with fellow fanartist, aguamyeontee for Yifantasy first round. [Here](http://yifantasy.livejournal.com/11164.html) is the link for beautiful art piece.
> 
> I also prepared a [Spotify playlist](https://open.spotify.com/user/fifthmay/playlist/6UPiqwkDRFtlTusgdXtgEe) to accompany the fic. Hope you guys would give this a listen.

 

 

 

 

“Haha-”

Junmyeon brings his hand up to his mouth to stop the deep laughter erupting from his throat. Hopefully nobody heard that, he thinks.

When he looks at his phone screen again, more pictures popped up in the chatroom which caused him to give another bout of breathless laughter; the hand that cups his mouth was still there. He finds it funny how his own friend failed to recognize him in drag. In a sense, Junmyeon is proud because that meant he has successfully pulled this off.

“Miss?”

Junmyeon looks up from his phone to see the spot occupied by a girl in front of him is already empty and it is his turn to order. He hastily moves a few steps forward, lips uttering apologies right after he kept his phone into the denim handbag he borrowed from one of his classmates.

The barista—MINSEOK written on the left side of his sleek black vest—offers a smile despite him holding the line just a few seconds ago. Though somehow his eyes wander off somewhere else for a moment before he asks for Junmyeon’s order.

“Welcome to Doppi O.” His gaze strays again. “Your order, Miss?”

“I want….” Junmyeon takes the chance to glance at the long span of mirror hanging just above the working station. There is no one waiting in line after him - nothing worth to note. Except a guy with brown hair and a face that deserves a second look chooses to make an entrance at that moment and takes a spot not far behind Junmyeon.

The expression on the barista’s face instantly brightened. Well, there goes his chance to get the barista’s number.

“I want caramel macchiato. With lots of caramel. Make it sweet, please.” Junmyeon has never tried that before—in fact coffee is _never_ his cup of tea—but Jongdae said it was nice. And there is caramel in there so surely it will be good as coffee can get for Junmyeon.

“Of course,” the barista nods, “sweet thing for a sweet person.” Somehow those words don't seem to be directed towards Junmyeon.

“For here or to go?”

Junmyeon opts for ‘here’ knowing that he has to spend some time in the coffee shop to get someone else’s number.

 

 

Junmyeon pouts at the sight of the brown-haired male with quite a pretty face talking to ‘Minseok’ at the counter. The barista is looking down, fingers tracing over the edge of the counter as he listens to whatever the other male is saying. Of course Junmyeon is not really interested with the barista—it is just for a dare—but seeing those two flirting with each other openly (the cashier beside them ignores them completely) plants a seed of envy on his heart.

‘Some’ by Soyu & Junggigo starts to play from the speakers and Junmyeon laughs at how the barista throws a piercing glare at the nonchalant cashier.

His laughter dies down when his eyes somehow meet with a guy across the room. It is clear that the man is setting his gaze on ‘Junmi’ for a while now, even though his girlfriend is just there on the opposite side of the table. Junmyeon shifts his line of vision to his cup of undisturbed caramel macchiato—little caramel hearts decorating the froth—when he decides that maybe it won't bring any harm to smile back at the guy since it will be the last time for him to see 'her'.

Junmyeon should have never underestimate the intuition of a woman. The girlfriend chooses to look up at that moment to catch her boyfriend so obviously checking out other girl, which turns out to be none other than _her_ .  
  
The legs of the chair screech against the floor as the girlfriend pushes her body away from the table. Junmyeon wonders where is she heading with a glass of iced coffee that she takes from the neighbouring table when she stops right in front of him.

This girl proves to be more of a biter and less of a barker when she arrives in front of him and holds the glass over his head.  
  
“Slut like you should just die.”  
  
In an instant the brown liquid and the ice cubes in the glass pours down onto Junmyeon’s head, wetting the borrowed dress down to his camisole. He stays frozen at his spot, too shocked to do anything.

Once seems to be not enough for her—she takes Junmyeon’s cup of hot coffee and is about to splash him for a second time before someone holds her by the arm.  
  
She clicks her tongue, getting annoyed for the interruption when she sees a man towering over her. It doesn’t stop her from glaring straight at him.  
  
“Whatever you are doing right now, I suggest you to stop and take it outside of my shop.”

Junmyeon hears the clink of the china as she puts down the coffee on the saucer plate.

“That should teach you not to mess with other’s property.”

She proceeds to leave from the premise, not before taking her luxury handbag from her seat leaving her boyfriend to trail after her.

Myriad of emotions floods into Junmyeon as he sits in silence. What exactly had he done for him to deserve this kind of treatment? He just want to win a dare, he is not planning to be a homewrecker or any sort. And then here he is—bangs sticking to his forehead, wet dress clinging on his front, people pointing fingers and laughing at _her_ .

Honestly there is no other place he wants to be than that coffee shop right now.

“Are you okay?”

Junmyeon looks underneath his flat bangs to see a man - stunning face to match his deep voice with a black-rimmed spectacles framing his onyx eyes, hair neatly combed back to reveal his forehead, black blazer fitting nicely over his white shirt - standing right in front of _her_.

There is a large hand being extended towards Junmyeon and he is not sure what to do with it for a few seconds. He hesitantly reaches out to that helping hand and he feels a soft tug as he gets on his two legs. They are trembling for some reason and Junmyeon dares not to lift his eyes to meet the taller male’s.

“I apologize for your misfortune and I will not let anything like this happens again.”

Junmyeon just nods feebly; eyes focusing on the brown liquid dripping onto his borrowed kitten pumps, forming a small puddle on the floor.

He then hears a faint _‘swoosh’_ before he feels some weight on his shoulders and something dark falls onto his frame. It takes him some time to process that it is a blazer that was on the taller male previously and is now draping on him.

“Xing, please guide her to the ladies’.”

The cashier then appears beside Junmyeon and coaxes him to follow him to the restroom, not forgetting to take the handbag on the table beforehand.

 

 

 

By the time Junmyeon is out of the restroom—there are still brown splotches on the dress that he couldn't get rid of no matter how much he scrubbed with the tissues—the tall guy which Yixing refers to as Boss-ge is no longer to be found. There is however a cup of caramel macchiato for the go and a piece of giant-sized chocolate cookie in a paper bag waiting for _her_ at the counter.

“On the house,” quotes the cashier. Junmyeon takes the bag with one hand, the other grips onto the lapel of the lent blazer.

 

 

◎⊙◎

 

 

 

The blade of the fans whirs loudly. The dress hanging by the window flutters from the wind blown straight by the table fan.

Junmyeon lies like a starfish on his single bed, looking at the wet spots on the ceiling. He observes the brownish borders of the wet spot, then he turns to look at the dress.

Those faint brown spots seems to be mocking his futile efforts to get rid of them. He had tried almost everything that he could do on the net—he even tried using egg yolks because ehow.com said so—but they are still there, stubborn as ever.

He heaves a sigh as he shifts to lie on his side; his field of vision is now directing towards the study table. There is an automatic night lamp attached to the wall socket and a piggy bank that never seems to get heavier beside a bulky laptop on the messy table. Draping the top rail of his study chair is a piece of clothing in dark colour that he is not familiar of.

Junmyeon frowns for a while before he lifts his tired body away from the mattress and walks towards the said chair. He grabs that jacket and spreads it by the shoulders, admiring it at an arm-length. From here it looks like it belongs on the mannequin in one of those high end shop in _Cheongdam-dong_ where he always stand and stare at the showcase from the outside.

Junmyeon zeroes in on the back of the collar to find there is no tag sewn there so he opens the blazer and discovers a small piece of satin fabric embroidered with white letterings underneath the opening of the inside pocket.

“Balmain Paris,” Junmyeon reads slowly. When his brain finishes interpreting the stimulus relayed from his optic nerves, it dawns on him that the blazer jacket he is holding right now is an actual high end item unlike the knock off version available in _Itaewon-dong_.

He takes one of the hanging sleeves, feeling the soft woollen texture against his fingers. As expected, it feels _so_ different from the one he always use in his closet.

Now that he tries to recall, he remembers the taller guy looking luxurious from head to toe, but he doesn't expect for him to be _that_ rich for giving a complete stranger an original Balmain blazer.

“What are you doing?”

Junmyeon whispers a colourful words under his breath, hand gripping the jacket tight while another hand rubs over his startled heart. Jongdae and Baekhyun double in laughter from Junmyeon’s reaction, easily slip through the door and plop on the floor.

When Junmyeon scolds them for coming into his room unannounced Baekhyun shoots back with “You don't even lock the door properly! You’re always like that,” in which Junmyeon silently agrees for it is a habit he has not break.

Jongdae notes the dress fluttering against the window frame. “Still there?” he refers to the offending stains.

Junmyeon hums in agreement, dejection obvious on his face. He joins them on the floor after putting the jacket on bed; Baekhyun laying down a big piece of transparent vinyl on the floor as a makeshift dining place while Jongdae waits for Baekhyun to finish before placing their takeaways— _jjambong_ for today with extra pickled radish and a plate of _mandu_. Junmyeon grabs the wooden chopsticks and distributes them once the bowl being placed in front of everyone.

Baekhyun gets up to take Junmyeon’s laptop on the table and places it on the mattress before turning it on and inserts his thumb drive into the USB port. His index finger is busy maneuvering the cursor using the touchpad before he retreats back only to return once again to adjust the screen for better view. He briefly presses the spacebar and a video of six men in a coffee shop setting fills the screen, the lower middle of the screen shows ‘COFFEE PRINCE FIRST SHOP’.

“Just how much you want to mock me now,” Junmyeon deadpans.

Baekhyun profusely denying it while Jongdae hits the former’s arm, scolding him on Junmyeon’s behalf.

“Who was the one who said yesterday that we should continue watching the rest of it tonight?” Baekhyun points out, making Junmyeon to pout as he shakes the polystyrene plate covered with cling film side by side, mixing the yellow noodle and the black bean paste evenly.

“One episode only. After that I want to sleep,” Junmyeon compromises.

Not even a few seconds into the drama and Baekhyun starts, “I thought handsome shop manager only exist in drama. But woah, that mister was very handsome. Tall too.”

The others know whom exactly Baekhyun talks about. He is talking about the guy from the coffee shop this afternoon, one that Yixing the cashier calls Boss-ge.

“That jacket on my bed,” Junmyeon mentions; both Jongdae and Baekhyun turns to look at the said item. “Belongs to him. It’s a real one; Balmain.”

The duo lets out a chorus of _‘Ohh’_.

Baekhyun picks up a pickled radish and says, “If you sell this jacket, you’ll get enough money to pay for your degree _and_ replaces Yoona’s dress.”

“I’d do that,” replies Junmyeon. “If it belongs to me. Which is not.”

Baekhyun shrugs at Junmyeon’s answer; mouth now busily occupied with noodles. Both Jongdae and him knows how Junmyeon needs money to pay his debt so the university will release his certificate of degree. Which is also the reason why the latter desperately tried to win the dare where the reward is three month worth of house rent. It was coincident that they were watching the pilot episode for ‘COFFEE PRINCE FIRST SHOP’ at that time, giving birth to the crossdressing dare.

And for the record, Junmyeon still didn't win the dare because he didn't accomplish the aim of getting some guy’s number and he just hate pity win.

“But what about the dress,” Jongdae glances at the window where the said item is hanging. “You have to replace it. And I don't want to remind you but with your part-time at the convenience store, you’ll be struggling to pay for it.”

The pout on Junmyeon’s face is getting further and further. He pokes the coated noodles with his wooden chopsticks like a child would to a dish he doesn't like.

Baekhyun watches the video intently, taking in the scene where the main actor interacts with the staffs of his coffee shop. A bulb dings above his head.

“You should work there,” Baekhyun points at the laptop.

“Where? TV station?”

Baekhyun clicks his tongue as he reaches for his phone in his pants pocket. He accesses his gallery to search for a picture that he took earlier.

“I took it just in case I need it. But,” Baekhyun shoves his phone in front of Junmyeon, “you might it more than me.”

Junmyeon looks at the picture of a piece of paper pasted on the glass door of the coffee shop they went to this afternoon.

“Staff needed,” he reads it out loud.

Baekhyun makes an expression that resembles a _doge_ while Jongdae whines about how he always wanted to work in a coffee shop.

 

 

◎⊙◎

 

 

“Here comes Romeo!!! Ssing- _hyung_ , cue!”

The first thing that Kris hears when he steps into the closed coffee shop instead of a bow and ‘Good morning, Kris- _hyung_ ’ from Sehun makes him bewildered. _Romeo? Where?_

 

_Moon so bright, night so fine_

_Keep your heart here with mine_

 

“Ah _hyung_. This is Zorro, not Romeo,” points Sehun.

Yixing moves away from the computer and gets a clean wiping cloth and starts to wipe the counter area. “I know but isn’t Zorro more appropriate?”

“Why so?” Sehun asks, resuming his duty of mopping the floor.

“Because he is a hero that comes to protect this place from vicious people and swoops the women’s heart.” Yixing utters fluently in Chinese language, even animating some sword wielding poses, causing Sehun to gape and Kris to shake his head.

“Why do I hire idiots,” Kris laments in English.

Sehun looks at his boss. “ _That_ I understand.”

Kris gives him a pointed look, contemplating whether to scold that boy for not greeting him properly before, but comes to understand that Sehun only treats him like that because they are close in the first place.

“Anyway guys, Kyungsoo still can't make it today. So it's just gonna be,” Kris makes a headcount, “Just us three today.”

This coffee shop, proportionate to its size, has only four employees. Yixing and Minseok had been working here since it opened a year ago. Kyungsoo joined them shortly after and took charge of waffles and cookies. Sehun was the latest addition, joining in six months after. The latter is supposed to be only a part-timer but he stays long enough to be promoted to full permanent staff while the other part-timers just seem to have problem committing there.

Their schedules had been smooth until late. Kyungsoo’s roommate, whose family is residing in America, had fallen ill recently. It is not Kyungsoo’s obligation to take care of his sick roommate but being person that Kris had come to know, Kyungsoo would still do that anyway.

Minseok on the other hand had been working for double shifts 8 days straight just to get a free day today and tomorrow. Besides, there’s Luhan who will personally go after his life should Kris interrupts his precious time with Minseok.

He himself couldn't stick around to help yesterday, except for the time he came back to his office late afternoon and promptly leave again. Not that he wanted to attend that tea time matchmaking session but his mom insisted; he couldn't refuse.

“Thank god you're here. If it’s only two of us again for today I don't think I can survive.”

Sehun promptly disappears into the kitchen because he was one of the people who was absent yesterday.

It’s not that Kris hasn't try to find more workforce. The notice for job vacancy had been put down and put up for so many times they don't bother to take it down anymore.

Kris choose to man the cash register today for Yixing to just focus on his barista duty. Sehun will be handling the waffles and the dine ins. The dirty dishes can wait until the end of the day.

 

 

 

The music player on the computer plays the next song in the shuffled playlist - piano instrumental of The Second Star to the Right. He finds it funny that at the age of thirty two, a small part of him wishes for a Tinkerbell to appear and help him with his struggling coffee shop. But of course, the adult part of him reminds himself that such thing doesn't exist in real life.

“Good morning Miss, welcome to Doppi O.”

Yixing’s cheerful greeting triggers the shop owner to looks away from the computer screen, focusing on the entrance instead. Kris’ eyes land on the footwear of the walk-in, black Converse sneakers with white short ankle length socks and large red heart shapes print. His eyes moves upwards, taking in the view of blindingly fair calves and modest pastel blue skirt. She is holding a paper bag but Kris cannot really see her hands for the sleeves of her seemingly large beige sweater cover even her fingers.

 _So small,_ Kris thinks. _Like a pixie._

She fiddles with the strings that hold the bag for a moment, moving it from her side to the front before giving a bow at both of them.

Yixing reciprocates her action (Kris doing the same a little while after) and takes a good look at her when she lifts up her head. “Oh? Aren't you the one from yesterday?”

She gives a sheepish smile at Yixing before turning to look straight at Kris. The bag in her hand is now on the counter. From Kris’ vantage point he can see a familiar jacket in it; no wonder he couldn’t find it this morning.

“Thank you for your kindness,” she bows for a second time.

“Thank _you_ for coming here again,” Kris replies with a sincere smile, honestly pleased that he managed to handle the situation yesterday. “Sorry that you got your dress ruined.”

“Ah... it’s okay,” she flails her arms now that they are free, flopping the long sleeves. “Not your fault things happened that way.”

She turns her head to look at the entrance for some time before looking straight again. “You… You are owner of this coffee shop, right?”

Kris nods for affirmation after sharing a brief glance with his barista.

“Do you still have a spot for part-timer here?”

Kris glances at Yixing again, who is now having a large grin on his face.

 _So it’s true,_ Kris thinks as he looks at the girl in front of him _. All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust._

 

 

 

◎⊙◎

 

 

 

_Swallow._

_Hold it._

_Hold….. it…._

He can't hold it. His adam’s apple is too prominent anyone can see that he is a guy.

Junmyeon puts on more powder of two shades darker than his real tone (which is still fair because his skin tone is VERY fair) onto his adam’s apple until it looks a little bit smaller than before. He wears his white shirt and regrets when it doesn't help to cover his adam’s apple but that's okay. He can always come up with a story for that.

One good thing about this uniform is that he can wear a pair of pants. Wearing skirt in this season is just torture; he doesn't understand why girls still wear that in this climate.

He tightens the strap at the of the vest to emphasis on his curve. That in turn makes his broad shoulders seems more defined, adding another issue to his appearance. He has to sacrifice one for the other so he decides to keep the strap tight. If anyone asks him about his broad shoulders he can answer with _‘I like to swim’_ or _‘I play tennis’_.

Since the collar of his shirt can't cover the obvious bumps, he takes a piece of long black ribbon from his handy dandy backpack and ties it like a bow around the collar, keeping it in place over his contoured adam’s apple.

He styles his wig so the hair covers the side of his neck and some of his shoulders. He takes one more look in the mirror for final assessment.

_Act like a girl._

_Be like a girl._

_I am Kim Junmi._

“Fighting.”

 

 

**◎⊙◎**

 

 

Day 22. Junmyeon is still working in the cafe as _Junmi._

Of course, he still works in the convenient store, taking morning shifts for four days a weeks but he dropped the double afternoon and evening shifts on weekends to morning shifts only on Sundays. Kris agreed to let him start his work hour much later than the full-timers, provided that he has to stay until closing. Saturday is his off day but sometimes when Minseok gets kidnapped by Luhan (“He’s my employee, Luhan. You can’t keep- He- Hello? God dammit Luhan!”—Kris getting mad as witnessed by Sehun) Junmyeon will be summoned by a very much apologetic Kris.

Working in this cafe, for Junmyeon, is not as draining as when he once worked in a family restaurant. The atmosphere here is so easygoing, the decor is much calmer than the red walls of a busy restaurant. The smell of fragrant coffee and freshly made waffles welcomed rather than the greasy smell that stayed in his hair even after shower.

_And the staffs._

Doppi O staffs, Junmyeon notes, have a lot of affection to each other. It's not a surprise to see Sehun draping his long arms around almost everyone even during work time. Sometimes he’ll find Yixing resting his head on Minseok’s or Sehun’s shoulder during break.

Kyungsoo isn't the type that starts the skinship. He even seemed hostile to Junmyeon at first, threatening to tackle Yixing every time the latter tries to touch his tush. However, whenever Kris is around, he’ll be all cute and adorable like how a little brother will act around his favourite older brother.

Minseok is available to be hogged by anyone anytime, except when Luhan comes to the shop. That time Luhan will act like a fierce lion protecting his mate and _no one_ wants to get in problem with Luhan, even his own cousin Kris.

For Kris, it’s quite hard to say because he is usually in his office if not going out somewhere. Though according to Yixing, lately he has been doing more of the former than the latter. But sometimes when he is out from the office, he will wander to the kitchen, asking Kyungsoo to fix some waffles for him with extra strawberry and extra everything else sweet.

 _A gentleman with a sweet tooth_ , Junmyeon thinks.

They are affectionate to him too but they draw some lines with _Junmi_. They don't initiate any kind of skinship with him without permission and they respect his request to leave the changing room when it's time for him to use the space.

But sometimes, one of them will overstep the border. Like now with Sehun hovering his shoulder, looking at the opened browser where he is browsing through an online shop to find a replacement dress for Yoona on his phone.

“Uwah _noona_!! That dress is so pretty.”

Junmyeon is _this_ close to throw the phone right on the younger male’s face because his heart is really not that strong to begin with.

“I can imagine you wearing that on our date.” The younger man winks at him and flashes a playful smile that can melt older females' hearts.

Junmyeon gives an apologetic smile. “Sorry Sehun-ah but I don't look at you like that.”

The taller male gives a dramatic moan, clutching his vest-clad chest.

“Ssing- _hyung_ ,” he staggers to the counter where Yixing is standing. “Junmi- _noona_ just rejected me.”

Yixing pats the younger one’s head once it rests on his shoulder before he continues to count the profit for today.

“Since the computer is already turned off, I’ll sing you a song instead.”

Sehun answers with a mock sniff.

_“Noona neomu yeppeo…._

_michyeo…_

_replay, replay, replay….”_

The younger breaks into a dance, face still sad but joints popping to the rhythm while Junmyeon is standing at a side looking at them in amusement.

“Won't you guys rather finish your work than playing around like that?” Kris comes out from his designated office, holding his leather jacket over his shoulder. His perfectly combed hair is still in shape even after long hours but those eyes behind the spectacles show shadows of exhaustion.

Sehun quickly retreats to the changing room, leaving Yixing at the counter to finalize the count in the cash register.

“Aren’t you going to change too?”

Junmyeon snaps out of his thought. “Uh. . I. . . I can take a lot of time changing so usually I don't bother changing here. I’ll just clean myself up when I get home.” He conveniently leaves out the point where he usually takes the last subway home and stops by at the rarely used female bathroom at the subway station to remove his makeup and changes into a loose hoodie to hide his features.

“I can wait until you finish changing,” the taller man offers.

Before Junmyeon can refuse, Kris continues, “Yixing, you can go back first. I’ll close the shop.”

 

 

 

 

Kris hums a soft tune of Ne-Yo’s One in a Million as he stands outside the entrance with his phone in his hand, leather jacket framing his body. On his Gmail app he checks for his email and deletes all the unnecessary emails when he notices one sent by his mother's secretary. Even from the title he can guess the content of the email—it's another profile of eligible woman to matchmake with him. It's understandable that his mom wants him to get married—he is not getting younger anyway—but he doubts that those women wants to settle down with him after knowing that he had been married once before. He contemplates whether he wants to straight away send it to trash folder or to open it first.

“Umm. . . _Sajangnim_ ,” Kris hears a soft voice calling for his name. He looks at the caller over his shoulder for a glance but he instinctively does a double take, turning his body fully around.

His new employee is standing inside his shop, head and body under the cover of a loose hoodie, hem falls mid thigh over a body fitting jeans. She has one of her hand which partially disappears under the long sleeve over his mouth, possibly embarrassed by her makeup free face. But honestly Junmi has nothing to be embarrassed about. Her clean, bare skin is very fair and her unlined eyes emits an aura that Kris can only describes as ‘adorable’.

“Thank you for waiting.” She steps out from the shop and gives him a small bow.

“Help me turn off the lights first.”

Junmi bows another time—cultural habit, something that even Kris picks up along his stay in Korea—before turning off the switches for the lights at the veranda and the entrance. She steps out from the dark coffee shop, letting Kris to lock the door and proceed to wind a large chain over the handles and secures it with an equally big padlock.

“Now,” Kris twirls the keys with his index finger before catching them in his palm. “Let’s send you back home.”

“It’s okay, _sajangnim_. I can go back myself.” She shakes both her partially visible hands, emphasising her refusal, however what catches Kris’ attention is now her full exposed face. He’d always thought that pink colour looks pretty on Junmi’s lips, but under the street light it is clear to see that her lips are naturally pink. And she also has a cute little mole on top of her right lip.

“What kind of person would I be, letting his female employee going home by herself at. . .” he looks at his wristwatch that shows 11.31 pm which is actually still considered as early at night; people here just don't sleep.

Kris clears his not itchy throat, “Let's get going then,” he starts to walk.

“ _Sajangnim_ ,” _Junmi_ trails behind. “I’m fine going home on a subway, really.”

Kris halts his step and turns around, nearly causing _Junmi_ to bump into him straight. “Then I’ll walk you to the station.”

He resumes his steps then, his long legs taking bigger steps than the other. He finds her trotting to catch up with him so he slows down to match her pace.

Along the walk to the subway Kris discovers that _Junmi_ is not really as talkative as he thought. Sure, they do have small talks about her living in one room apartment in suburbs and the rent is quite cheap for university student like her. But somehow the silence that comes after doesn't make him feels awkward like when he was sitting on the opposite side of the chair during his matchmaking sessions.

A few more minutes of conversationless walk and now they are at the stairs of the subway station. Junmi, always a polite kid, gives a bow and bid him goodnight before going down the stairs.

Halfway through the staircase she turns to look up, noticing Kris who is still standing there. She waves goodbye at her boss then nearly falls down a step before she steadies herself by gripping the handrail. Kris knows that she must be embarrassed by now judging by the way she hops down the stairs quickly.

Somehow it feels like watching a bunny disappear into a burrow, and Kris wonders if that how Alice felt when she saw White Rabbit going down the rabbit hole.

“Curiouser and curiouser,” he says, head full with the thought of a certain Kim as he walks to his parked car.

 

 

 

 

 

◎⊙◎

 

 

_Ding!!_

Baekhyun presses the microwave door button and takes out two inflated plastic packagings by the seam with his fingers. Once he gets near the designated eating table he throws them onto the horizontal surface and and hisses loudly, placing the pad of his heated fingers onto both sides of his cold earlobes.

Junmyeon picks up the cup of instant coffee left by the customer on the table and wipes the coffee stain on the table with a wet tissue. He goes to the sink and pours down the remaining liquid in the cup into the sink and stuffs the tissue into the cup before throwing them together into the bin under the sink.

He goes to the fridge to get two small boxes of fresh milk and joins his friend at the long table. His legs dangle from the high chair while he looks out the window of the convenience shop, watching the calm suburbs on Sunday morning.

Baekhyun nudges his spacing friend and hands him an opened plastic before he proceeds to consume his own hot bun.

“How’s the job in that coffee shop?” he asks even though he hasn't finished chewing.

“It’s ok. Other staffs are nice to me. The boss too; he seemed cold at first but he’s very kind.” Junmyeon grabs a bite of the bun and smiles contently, both from the bread and also from the kind treatment he received at the coffee shop.

“Last night the boss walked with me all the way to the subway station.”

Baekhyun scoffs. “You mean he walked _Junmi_ all the way to the subway station.”

Junmyeon frowns at Baekhyun’s statement. “What do you mean by that?”

Baekhyun takes a gulp of milk before he explains, “Your colleagues are nice to Junmi. Your boss is nice to Junmi. Don't you get it? They are only nice to you because they think that you are a girl. What if one day they find out about your real gender?”

Junmyeon’s rhythmic chewing slows down. It is true that according to the workers in that coffee shop, she is the only female. It's a given if they are kind to her but what if they know about the _real_ Junmyeon?

“If you don't want to finish that. . .”

Junmyeon gives his half-eaten bread to his friend and watches a family of three passes in front of the convenient store.

 

 

◎⊙◎

 

 

“..... mi-sshi!!”

Minseok’s voice snaps him out of his daydream. “Y-yes?”

There is a look of concern on the barista’s face. “You seems to be spacing out a lot lately. Are you having any problem?”

Of course he has a problem but it is something he cannot tell. To use the ‘I have a friend’ card will makes it more obvious that the problem is about him so no, he won't use that method.

“I’m fine, Minseok-sshi. Thanks for asking.” Junmyeon spots some customers leaving a table so he excuses himself to collect dirty plates and cups, successfully avoiding more questions from the barista.

After he loads his tray with the dirty chinaware and wipes the table clean, he takes the tray and heads towards the kitchen. One moment he is still walking, the next moment he falls on his knees, sending the chinaware straight to the floor.

Junmyeon emits a groan, palm still pushing against the floor on instinct. He feels a hand under his arm pulling him up and hears a murmur of ‘Careful, careful’ coming from the one who helps him which turns out to be Sehun.

Junmyeon can hear another set of murmur coming from the nearby tables.

 

_What's up with that bitch?’_

_So clumsy…’_

_'Does she even know how to hold a tray.’_

_'Worthless.’_

 

No doubt that Sehun can hear it too judging from the frown forming on his face. “Don't think about it too much, anyone can make a mistake.”

He leaves Junmyeon to get a broom from the closet. As soon as Sehun is out of sight, Junmyeon hears again; “ _Look at her flirting with Sehun. No shame at all_.”

All Junmyeon can do is to bite his lips shut and picks up the larger broken pieces, uncaring of the sharp edges.

Girls are scary but envious girls, Junmyeon concludes, are much scarier.

 

 

 

 

The smell of freshly cooked batter fills the small kitchen. Kyungsoo lifts the handle of the top iron plate, letting the steam to disperse before revealing a crispy golden waffle on the hot plate. Junmyeon is standing at his side, watching his senior colleague slathers some ganache on the waffle and adds two scoops of vanilla ice-cream on top of it.

Junmyeon is ready to take the finished plate to the table when Kyungsoo stops his hand. “Get Sehun to take it out. Junmi- _sshi_ should just stay here in the kitchen.”

Before Junmyeon can voice out his dissatisfaction Kyungsoo cuts him first. “It’s not because you are bad at your job; don't think of it that way. Boss just wants to keep you out from the girls out there.”

Junmyeon gives a small nod; not because he agrees to the boss’ decision but because of Kyungsoo starting to mutter under his breath about Sehun’s rabid fangirl and ‘Handsome guys just bring trouble’ as if he had experience dealing with a lot of good-looking men before.

Minutes later another plate of waffle is ready to be served, but the overwhelming amount of chocolate ganache with cut strawberries on top is quite a shocking sight. Is there anyone else out there with unhealthy desire for sweet things like his boss?

“Junmi-sshi, can you please bring this to boss?” Kyungsoo puts the plate on a small tray then brings it over to Junmyeon.

Junmyeon points to himself. _Me?_

A quick nod from Kyungsoo and Junmyeon finds himself mirroring the action albeit slower.

“Wait,” Kyungsoo goes out from the kitchen and comes back with a mug of matcha latte then puts the mug down beside the plate.

“Thanks,” Kyungsoo says before he proceeds to mixer to make a new batch of batter.

 

 

 

The ‘office’ is just a small room next to changing room, where his boss spends most of his time. Unlike some other bosses Junmyeon worked with who always unreachable when needed, Kris actually makes an effort to be at the coffee shop everyday. Lately however he doesn’t even come out to ask Kyungsoo for waffle, instead the latter is the one going to the office to deliver the waffle.

Junmyeon knocks on the door once with his unoccupied hand. Junmyeon takes the lack of response as a sign for him to knock harder. The door however gives in with just a gentle nudge, revealing the content of the ‘office’.

The room is small, no doubt, but the minimalist design and arrangement of the furnitures (a long leather sofa, a glass coffee table, a desk with a laptop and speakers on top with a chair behind, some cabinets and a filled bookshelf) makes the room seems a bit more spacious than it seems. Posters of inspiring typography adorn the white wall (“The Future is BRIGHT & FULL of OPPORTUNITY”, “DRINK good COFFEE READ good BOOKS”). The closed blind panel behind the desk shuts the harsh light from the sun from entering the room.

On the long sofa lies his boss, glasses still on despite having his eyes closed. There’s a soft piano instrumental playing from the small speaker. Judging from calm and deep movement of his chest, he seems to slumber unpeacefully—the frown between his eyebrows suggest so.

Junmyeon goes to the coffee table and places the tray down carefully. _The waffle is going to get cold_ , Junmyeon thinks, but his boss seems to need the sleep much more than food right now.

He kneels beside the sofa, determined to get the glasses off Kris’ face. Junmyeon pulls the glasses slowly by the hinges, sliding it upwards until it comes off. Junmyeon takes a good look at his boss’ face; tired looking but somehow still handsome. He wonders what kind of business Kris has to handle to be that exhausted.

“Sweet dreams,” whispers Junmyeon, hoping that his wish reaches Kris in the dreamland. He places the glasses on the table before he exits the office, remembering to close the door properly.

 

 

 

The soft _click_ of the door is the signal for Kris to finally open his eyes.

He has been awake even before he hears the knock. Recently he have problem sleeping at night, resulting for him to catch some shut-eye whenever possible. Kyungsoo always puts down the tray and leave him unbothered so Kris doesn’t bother to lock the door.

But this this, Kris can sense that the person delivering his food this time is not Kyungsoo. He feels the sensation of his glasses being lifted off his face—Kyungsoo will never do that. He can also feel the presence of someone watching over him for some time.

He hears a soft whisper of ‘ _Sweet dream_ ’ then _click_ of the shutting door not long after.

Kris turns on his side, blurred vision taking in the image of the dish and the drink on the table. Strangely, he doesn’t feel hungry at all. The whisper he heard before however keeps playing in his head, lulling him to sleep.

He closes his eyes again, tight muscles on his face relaxing.

 

 

◎⊙◎

 

 

The time is 10.53 pm. Junmyeon has been stuck with kitchen duty for more than six hours and it is finally time to clean up before closing the shop. He has finished wiping the last cup dry and stacks it on the rack. Kyungsoo is cleaning the removable iron plates under the running tap water right now. Usually it is Kyungsoo’s duty to take out the waste from the kitchen but Junmyeon wants to help since he has nothing to do anyway.

“You sure you can do it? It’s quite heavy, I don't think you can—”

Junmyeon lifts the large waste bag with just one hand when on usual day Kyungsoo has to use both his hands. Kyungsoo goes wide-eyed at _Junmi’s_ strength.

“Don't worry about it. The faster we finish, the faster we get to go home.”

Truth to be told, Junmyeon has never been outside the back of the shop. He never gets to receive the supply early in the morning because his shift starts at 2 pm and he always uses the front door when he arrives for his part-time job. Though he knows roughly where the industrial garbage bin is located; sometimes he’ll see Kyungsoo or Sehun going out from the backdoor to throw the garbage in the evening.

Lucky for him there are street lights illuminating the surrounding area and from here he can see a tall grey coloured bin not far from where he stands.

He turns away from the bin after he finishes throwing the garbage when he sees a group of four coming near him. He can't see their faces due to the caps and the hoodies they are wearing but he is quite sure that all of them are females.

“I was wondering which bitch that dared to lay his hand on our Sehun but it turned out to be no other than you. Yah, is it on your gene to flirt with any guy you see?”

Junmyeon tries not to aggravate her—she has a bat in her hand—but he can't admit for something he didn't do.

The one beside the girl with the bat scoffs at Junmyeon. “Look at this bitch playing innocent.”

Junmyeon takes a deep breath, trying to figure out ways to ask for help. He glances at the back door, hoping that anyone from inside will see what is happening outside. He curses to himself when he realizes that he left the door closed just now.

Now that no one can save his ass, he tries to reason with the girls. “Look, I don't like Sehun like that. He is just my coworker.”

“But Sehun likes you,” she retaliates. “But he won't like you anymore after we wreck that pretty face of yours.”

 

 

 

Kris heads to the kitchen, bringing the dirty plate with him. Finally he finished preparing lists of stock orders for the next batch of coffee beans and other goods after having a good nap. Being the owner cum manager of the coffee shop is to really draining (plus the family problem on top of that) but for a new coffee shop entrepreneur like him, he has no choice but to shoulder the responsibility. He didn’t spend all those year to get master in business management for nothing.

He expects to see Junmi and Kyungsoo in the kitchen but he only find the latter scrubbing the sink.

“Where’s Junmi?”

Kyungsoo explains that she went outside to throw the garbage instead of him before he leaves the kitchen and bids his boss goodbye.

Kris is no worrywart but his instinct sends him a warning. And almost always, his instinct is right.

The sight of four persons—one having a bat as a weapon—surrounding a helpless looking Junmi when he swings the back door open proves him right.

He opts to call for backup but the rest of his staffs went back already. Calling for police will make things more complicated so he tries using something else—with words. And also using gangster pose that he watched from the Hong Kong mafia movies.

“I suggest you to leave her alone,” Kris says with that deep, calm voice to attract the girls.

“Or what, _ahjusshi?_ You can't do anything on us.”

Kris tries to not be fazed by the girl’s attitude. “Leave her alone by yourself or I make you leave by force.”

He takes a few more steps towards the girls. “Kids like you think that you can cause trouble then get away under minors protection law. But you see, surveillance camera recording is quite a strong evidence. Now that you got your faces captured by the camera,” Kris points to the small device attached just above the back door, “you can have an experience of a lifetime behind bars.”

One of the girls urges her friends to retreat, telling them, ‘I told you the boss is a Chinese mobster. Why don't you believe me?’

They seems to be faltered by Kris’ rather convincing threat judging from their retreating steps. Less than a minute they are already out of sight, disappearing into the smaller alley.

Kris turns around to head back into the shop, holding the door open with his foot.

“Take your bag,” Kris says to his employee. “I’m sending you home tonight.”

 

 

 

 

The drive to his house is filled with silence saves for the voice coming from the navigation system. It is not the same as the one they had yesterday. This silence is deafening, one that makes Junmyeon ears ringing until he's about to go crazy.

_“You have arrived at your destination.”_

The car stop in front of a rundown apartment building where Junmyeon has been residing since he started studying in university. Kris is still keeping the engine of his car running, indicating that he is going to leave right after Junmyeon gets out of the car.

However when Kris shifts the gear to _P_ and pulls up the handbrake, Junmyeon knows that he has a long explanation to do.

“Whatever that you haven't told me, this is the chance to tell.”

Junmyeon refuses to look straight at his boss because his mind still haven't get to arrange it in proper sentences despite he has been thinking about half a day.

He hears his boss heaves a sigh.

“Just because I am a foreigner doesn't mean I don't know what the seventh digit in resident registration number _*_ stands for.”

Junmyeon finds it hard to process the information. His boss knew that he is a male from the day he hands in the form, which is the very first day he started working.

“I don't give a damn of what my employee’s gender; I don't care if you’re a guy or girl or even a transgender. But I expect my employee to be truthful with me.”

Junmyeon takes a deep breath like it is his last.

“My real name is Kim Junmyeon,” he starts. From there he tells him about the dare, of the borrowed dress and the real reason why he applied for part-time job even though he already has one in a convenience shop.

Kris doesn't give much reaction as he listens to Junmyeon’s story.

“Okay, but what made you so committed to win the dare in the first place?”

Junmyeon fidgets with the strands of wig in his hands. “It- it was stupid, really. I guess I had a big pride in the course that I took so I tried to prove to them that I could do whatever role that was given to me. Because. . . because I don't have a stage to act upon.”

He heard the man beside him gives a low hum. “So you want to act? That's your dream?”

Junmyeon nods, his disheveled hair follows in motion. “When I was small, I had a lot of ambitions. Doctor, engineer, teacher—you name it. I wanted to be all of them; then one day I realized that I wanted to be an actor. So that I could play them all. I didn't have to be them, but I could _be_ them.”

Kris laughs at him or rather laugh _with_ him because his sentence just now didn't make sense but that was the only way he could think of right now.

Their laughter slowly fades away.

“I had a dream too,” Kris begins; something Junmyeon doesn't expect.

“I actually wanted to be child books illustrator. Fairy tales were my forte; ask me any Disney story and I could tell you the whole story from start to end. I guess that’s because storybooks were the only companion I had since young. But as I grew up, I realized that the vision that I put on canvas were just too hard to be deciphered for most people. So yeah, I gave up on that.”

 _That explains the Disney playlist playing in the coffee shop,_ Junmyeon thinks.

“Once in a while I wondered if I really pursue on that, what would’ve happened to me now? You know, people tends to regret things they haven’t do than the one they did. So I think it’s good that you do something you always want to do.”

A word of encouragement is the last thing he expects to hear from Kris. That was the words he longed to hear from his parents but they never did. Hearing it from a someone that he barely touches his fragile heart, causing his eyes to glisten.

“But I have to stop whatever you are doing right now. You can no longer work in my shop like this.”

Junmyeon’s breathing halts the moment his brain processes that he just get fired. He'll never get to see Kris again.

“Tomorrow, I want you to come to work as yourself. As Kim Junmyeon. Not Kim Junmi or any other kind of persona. I want you to be yourself.”

A huge breath of relief passes his lips.

“Besides, those insecure girls couldn't stand seeing _Junmi_ being prettier than them. Better for you not to insult their already low self esteem.”

“ _Oh my god,_ ” Junmyeon wheezes, causing the tears that was threatening to fall just now to run freely on his cheeks for a whole different reason. “You are so bad!”

Kris shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly. “Just stating the truth. Really though, if you want to save your life from Sehun’s fangirls, follow what I say." 

Junmyeon is still laughing and occasionally sniffling due to the tears.

“Really, _sajangnim._ Thank you for still having me as your worker.”

“About that,” Kris points out. “Can you not call me _sajangnim_? I feel like a 50 years old geezer every time you call me that.”

“Then how should I address you?” Junmyeon asks.

“You can call me _hyung_. You can call me Kris. If you want to be closer,” Kris turns to look at him dead straight in the eye. “You can call me baby.”

Junmyeon’s face is already red from laughing too much just now. He isn't sure if there is a new set of blood rushing to his face because it feels really, really warm right now and Kris snickering beside him doesn't help at all.

“Well then, Kris- _hyung_ ,” Junmyeon emphasized on the word _‘hyung’_ , still feeling awkward for using the title with his own boss. He tries not to look directly at his boss when he alights from the care and gives a bow. “I’ll be excused then.”

“See you tomorrow,” Kris says. The only reply Junmyeon can give is another bow before he retreats to his apartment, eyes puffy but face full of smile.

Baekhyun and Jongdae don’t let Junmyeon to sleep until Junmyeon tells the duo _everything._

 

 

◎⊙◎

 

 

Kris is in his office from morning till noon, too busy confirming his orders with the suppliers. The moment he puts down his phone for the last call for confirmation he drops his head down on the table, groaning out loud. His stomach then turns on the alarm sign waiting to be feed for it has been empty for quite some time.

He steps out of his office and heads towards the  kitchen to coax Kyungsoo to fix him lunch. His steps dwindle to a halt however when he sees a very familiar back profile of someone in staff uniform but with quite unrecognized hairstyle. Sehun seems to be talking animatedly to that person when the younger male notices his boss standing back here.

“Oh, Kris- _hyung_! Look who’s here!” Sehun announces.

Kris manages to get the front view when the said person turns around to face him. It is Junmyeon; the real one, shorter black hair instead of long brown wig, fair skin no different than powdered one, clean bright eyes rather than kohled, _everything_ that Kris saw that night of the walk to subway station. Except he is no longer hiding it. He is Kim Junmyeon that Kris has yet to know of and one that he wants to know more and more.

“I was surprised at first but _waaah_ ,” Sehun gives a slow clap. “You are still pretty even as a guy. By the way my offer still stands-”

Kyungsoo drags the boy into the kitchen.

Junmyeon is left standing there in the corridor, looking somehow sheepish. Kris takes that as a sign to move closer and closer until he can get a very good look at the smaller male.

 

 

 

Junmyeon waits until Kris gets closer to him before he bids his employer. “Good afternoon,” he greets his boss formally. “ _Hy-hyung_.”

Based on the the broad smile on his boss’ face, Junmyeon takes that his boss is satisfied with the newly earned title. “Good afternoon to you too, Junmyeon.”

Truth to be told Junmyeon doesn't really like his own name. The meaning is good—‘ _excellent_ and _diligent_ ’—but it sounds so countrified. He remembers being teased for it when he was younger. Nevertheless when his boss said his name, he liked hearing that and he wants to hear Kris to call his name a lot.

“Now that I am your _hyung_ and you are my _dongsaeng_ , I can at least do this to you, right?”

Before Junmyeon has the chance to ask what his boss meant by that, a rather large hand lands atop of his head. He feels the hand petting his hair softly before his boss retracts the hand and keeps it inside his pants pocket, mirroring his other hand.

“You really look like a pixie. Cute.”

Kris heads to the kitchen promptly after that, leaving behind his dumbfounded staff. Junmyeon can hear his palpitating heart in his ears.

 

_‘Sumgyeowatdeon na-ui_

_sujubeun maeum modu_

_nege julge. . .’**_

 

Junmyeon snaps out of his thought and looks around for the source of the song only to realize that it comes from the shop’s speakers.

He heads down the corridor towards seating area and finds Yixing snickering behind the computer at the counter. He slaps the other’s shoulder but not hard enough to hurt, causing Yixing to break into giggle. Minseok who is standing not far from them is giving them a knowing look.

Junmyeon wonders how he is going to work in the coffee shop in peace now that he realizes that he is harbouring a _teeny bit_ of crush on his own boss.

 _But it’s okay,_ Junmyeon tells himself. _Just like that, even it means being a younger brother, I still want to stay by his side._

 

 

 

**_THE END_ **

 

 

 

p/s: *the seventh digit of korean resident registration number indicates the sex and the century in which the person was born. For Kim Junmyeon, his RRN would be 910522-1xxxxxx because he is a male citizen born between year 1900 to 1999.

**trans: I'll give you the nervous feelings I've hidden

 

 

 


End file.
